Praia, Aug. 27, 2026 (Lusa) - Around 130 people were affected by the cancellation on Tuesday of an EasyJet flight between the island of Boa Vista, in Cabo Verde, and Porto, in Portugal, with some still awaiting a solution, according to passengers.
«The EasyJet flight was due to depart on the 25th at around 10.00 local time (12.00 in Lisbon), but it ended up being cancelled. I was travelling with two other people to Porto,» Abel Fernandes, a 32-year-old Portuguese national who was on holiday in Boa Vista, told Lusa.
According to the passenger, some travellers received a message from the airline on Monday evening informing them that the flight had been cancelled.
The passengers contacted their respective travel agencies in Portugal, which began looking for alternatives, whilst they waited on Boa Vista for updates on the situation.
«Some fellow passengers managed, with the help of the agencies in Portugal, to rebook their flights and travel via stopovers,» he said, adding that he and his two travelling companions had secured an alternative flight to London, where they were on Wednesday, with their return to Porto scheduled for today.
According to him, the costs of these alternatives were borne by the passengers themselves, and they have not received confirmation regarding a possible refund.
«But this was all arranged by the agency in Portugal. We've still had no response from EasyJet,» he said.
Meanwhile, the passengers were put up in a hotel in Boa Vista and «some remain on the island without an official date for their return to Portugal».
«According to what our colleagues are telling us, nothing is official yet, but there is a prospect of returning on 1 September. There is no concrete answer,» he said.
He also stated that some of the passengers remaining on Boa Vista are without their usual medication, including drugs for diabetes and high blood pressure.
«They put people up in a hotel and so far nothing. No reply, no message. They simply provided accommodation, but that wasn't the point. People want to go home,» he said.
Another affected passenger, interviewed by Jornal de Notícias newspaper, also put the number of people affected by the cancellation at around 100 and said he was still not receiving any information from EasyJet regarding re-routing.
Eduardo Fernandes, who was on holiday in Boa Vista with his wife, told the newspaper that the travel agency had not received any response from the airline and that the passengers were still staying at one of the island's hotels.
In a statement to Lusa, EasyJet explained that flight 6872 from Boa Vista to Porto could not take place because «the aircraft scheduled to operate that route had been held up the previous day in Basel, Switzerland, due to air traffic control restrictions following adverse weather conditions in Central Europe».
The airline said that passengers were offered the option of being transferred free of charge to the next available flight or receiving a full refund.
Passengers who made their own alternative arrangements, it added, will be reimbursed for «any reasonable expenses».
It also stated that passengers were «promptly informed of the available options» and that they could organise their own alternative arrangements, subsequently being reimbursed for expenses deemed reasonable.
As for the number of passengers affected, the airline told Lusa that it is unable to specify exactly how many remain on Boa Vista, as some may already have used other airlines to leave the island.
EasyJet began operating in Cabo Verde in October 2024, with flights between Lisbon and Porto and the island of Sal, before expanding its operations in October 2025 to include Boa Vista, Praia and São Vicente.
The increase in regular flights to Europe has contributed to the growth of tourism in Cabo Verde, which welcomed 1.2 million visitors in 2025, 6% more than in the previous year.
Tourism and related activities are one of the main drivers of the Cabo Verdean economy, accounting for over 70% of the country's exports.
RS/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
